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Mumbai City FC's star attacking midfielder Rafael Bastos has joined Brasileiro Serie C club Juventude and will be unavailable for the ISL club for the 2019-20 season. The centenary club took to social media to announce the deal which happened on April 9th.
Speaking on the first press conference after signing with his new club, Bastos hoped that he would be immensely helpful in the club's quest to gain promotion back to the Serie B, after being relegated from the second tier of Brazilian football league system the previous season.
"I talked to Marquinhos Santos (the head coach). We cannot dismiss a big club like Juventude. We will be doing everything, with a lot of day-to-day work to put Juventude back in Serie B. It is a big challenge but the club has a proper structure to get the job done. I was very well received by the management and I already feel at home here."
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Rafael Bastos even made three appearances for his new club. He made his debut on 12th April coming on as a substitute in their Copa do Brasil third-round victory over Botafogo. He again came off the bench in their first leg of their fourth-round encounter against Vila Nova which finished 0-0.
The 34-year-old finally found his name in the starting line-up against Luverdense in the inaugural match of the 2019 Serie C, which ended again in a goalless draw.
The 2018-19 season was the first and possibly the last season of Rafael Bastos in India. Having joined Mumbai City FC from another Brazilian Serie C club Clube de Remo, Bastos found the back of the net five times in 19 appearances for the Islanders.
He also provided three assists, which played a huge role in Mumbai City FC's road to the playoffs. The Islanders might undergo a complete revamp of their foreign contingent as the club registered only one foreigner- Lucian Goian- in their squad for the Super Cup.
Joyner Laurenco has already departed from Mumbai City FC and signed with Jamshedpur FC. However, the club is trying their best to secure the services of FC Pune City's Sarthak Golui, Jamshedpur FC's Raju Gaekwad, Real Kashmir's Surchandra Singh, Aizawl FC's Hmingthanmawia, and Northeast United's Rowllin Borges to bolster their Indian contingent. Jorge Costa will continue with the club for another season.
